Four months ago I began a new role as the Asia Pacific Training Associate at the height of Covid. Perfect timing! All my trainees were dispersed among eleven countries, thousands of miles, speaking different languages and quarantined! Our original plan this Fall was to have two trainings:
A two week New Staff Training
Week-long Emerging Leader Cohort(s)
Like so many, we were forced to move all our training online. This highlighted challenges ranging from setting to teaching to length. This shift made the event a team effort more than ever and the unexpected positive result was that student participation increased 600% from 30 students previously to over 180 this year! Now this is a ‘new normal’ that I can get used to! In a season where virtual platforms seem like a poor replacement of in-person training, I witnessed four key improvements in our model that could only have happened virtually. These pivots can happen in any context so here is what we learned:
EVERYONE BECAME A TRAINER: While hoping to decentralize training with the introduction of local trainers in each city, the hybrid online/in-person format allowed this to happen immediately. Our prediction of 20 cohorts quickly increased when 53 people from 11 countries signed up to be Trainers! Interest and ownership changed everything. Working in small groups in accordance with local COVID restrictions allowed each trainer to show creative hospitality and host their groups like a cabin leader at camp. After each zoom teaching session, the in-city cohort would discuss contextualization. After three days of online NST, new staff were looking to their trainers for leadership, and wisdom. I couldn’t hope for more.
BROAD ACCESSIBILITY: Making training online, allowed for more people to attend. Part time staff and long-term volunteer leaders felt honored to participate. Language is always a challenge at Int’l trainings but the online model allowed for more translators to be involved, easier clarification via text, and no need for clunky headsets. A wider range of teaching voices were heard as senior staff living in several different cities participated in teaching sessions.
FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP: A group gathering of almost 200 people with flights, hotels, food, can be financially prohibitive for an International Young Life area. Online reduced costs drastically! Local trainers and online teachers worked to make things as hospitable as possible providing food, gifts, and significant ‘touches’ and communicated excellence, without incurring additional costs. I learned hospitality is vital to relational ministry but does not need to be expensive.
IT WAS FUN! Our training umbrella name is “Better Together” and that is true! We are better when we are together. Small groups were just thankful to be together, even though it was online. Humor, connection, encouragement, and community were priorities. Each participant was reminded that they are not alone! While each team and staff are tending to the plants the Lord has given to them, this week they got to see the bigger picture of the Garden!
Lastly, virtual platforms will never replace in-person gatherings in quality however they can be a significant compliment when done well. For Young Life’s Asia Pacific staff, the disruption that led us to an on-line model allowed us to ‘reach and teach’ more staff and leaders, broaden the ownership, lessen the cost, and feel more connected than ever before. How could these four pivots look in your context? I would love to share what we learned. Please feel free to contact me to talk more.
Written by:
Suzanne Sittko, Young Life Asia Pacific Training Associate (suzanne susittko@gmail.com )